


Christmas Is About Family (After All)

by Telaryn



Category: Leverage
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas Fluff, Dysfunctional Family, Families of Choice, Family Drama, Gen, Team as Family, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 11:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5624878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nate and Sophie's first Christmas together is interrupted by the death of the only family member Sophie still feels close to.  While she struggles to interact with the family of her birth, behind the scenes a Christmas surprise is in the works.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Is About Family (After All)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vicky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vicky/gifts).



> Thank you for playing with us again!

Death rituals were something Nathan Ford had more than a passing acquaintance with. Growing up in South Boston in the early 1970s, wakes were as common as baptisms – some of his earliest memories were of being forced into uncomfortable wool suits so he could sit through interminable church services with only the promise of being able to spend time with his friends and gorge himself on some of the best cooking in the neighborhood to see him through.

One thing he’d been surprised to learn wasn’t a universal constant was the treatment of holiday decorations when a death occurred. In Nate’s experience such things were removed for at least the duration of the public mourning period – piled in a back room, or somewhere out of view. Things that couldn’t be easily hidden were draped in black more often than not, especially at Christmas time.

Which was why Nate couldn’t shake the feeling that if he hadn’t already known he was attending a wake for Sophie’s beloved grandfather, he suspected he could have been excused for thinking it was a strangely reserved Christmas party. He’d even seen more than a few sprigs of holly decorating somber jacket lapels, but managed not to stare too openly.

“You’re a love for staying.” Sophie was suddenly at his side, her arm slipping easily into his as she passed him coffee with her free hand. “I am sorry about all this; spending our first Christmas Eve at a wake of all things.”

Turning, Nate kissed her hair. “Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t plan any of this.” He took a sip of the coffee, and then snorted softly. “Besides – what kind of husband would I be if I abandoned you to all of this?”

The small, happy sound that escaped her as she smiled warmed Nate deep inside his soul. “Husband. I shouldn’t like that as much as I do.”

“I don’t know,” he said lightly. “I like it just fine. It’s a hard-won title, and I’d like to think I earned it.”

“You did, you did,” she allowed, pivoting slightly to face him. “And you wear it well.” Reaching up, she made a point of adjusting his tie. “I just wish…”

Catching her gaze, Nate shook his head. “Don’t. We’ll have plenty of time to do Christmas up right. This is where you need to be right now – honoring your grandfather.”

Sophie shuddered, glancing furtively around them. “He would have hated this so much.”

Having met the man himself a few years earlier, Nate was forced to agree. In spite of being a war hero, Peter Newkirk had been a rogue of the highest order. Street magician, con artist, general all-around scallywag; he had arguably been the man single-handedly responsible for setting in motion the force of nature that eventually became Sophie Devereaux.

His unconventional view of the world had ultimately resulted in him being estranged from his family except for Sophie, while her attempts to maintain a relationship with her grandfather had ultimately landed Sophie in a similar situation. _Time heals all wounds, though,_ Nate thought, pulling her into an embrace. Faced with a scandal if she didn’t show proper respect to Sergeant Newkirk war hero, Sophie’s mother had put aside her disgust with her father’s unconventional attitudes and lifestyle and given him exactly the sort of farewell society expected her to.

“Maternal unit at six o’clock,” Nate murmured, pressing a kiss to his wife’s dark hair before turning her loose. Elizabeth Prentiss in many ways reminded him of what his own mother would have been like, had she lived. Tiny and fragile looking at nearly seventy years of age, she nevertheless commanded the attention of everyone in any room she entered. Nate could see a lot of her in the roles Sophie herself had played over the years, but almost as if two such identical personalities couldn’t share the same space at the same time, being face to face with her mother inevitably reduced Sophie to a quiet, submissive shell of herself.

“Charlotte, darling, Cousin Mary is into the claret. I don’t mean to take you away from your husband, but…”

Sophie shook her head. “No – it’s fine.” Nate caught her hand as she turned to give him one last apologetic look and raised it to his lips – brushing a kiss across her knuckles.

“She really does seem to care for you,” his mother-in-law said, once the two of them were alone. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

Drawing deep from memories of his own mother’s way of cutting down an opponent, Nate turned a calm, measured gaze on the older woman. “From where I stand, Elizabeth, it seems like there is a great deal you don’t understand about your daughter.”  
*********************************************  
By the time the majority of the guests had dispersed, the sun was down and Sophie hadn’t wanted to consider staying in her mother’s house one second longer. But then Elizabeth had suggested that members of the immediate family stay and share plates of the leftover food, and Nate – damn him – had been so focused on following her lead that he’d missed how badly she needed him to be the bad guy and make any sort of excuse for them to leave.

“We have so much room here Charlotte,” Elizabeth said, once the food had been cleared away and servants were distributing coffee among the family members. “It’s foolish for you and Nathan to waste money on an apartment in the city.”

“We’re still on our honeymoon, mother,” Sophie had reminded her. Which had sparked a throwaway comment from one of her cousins about Sophie’s age that had finally clued Nate into the idea that it was time to leave.

“I didn’t want you to have to see any of that.” They’d been driving for nearly twenty minutes through the dark English countryside before Sophie felt comfortable enough to speak. “I’m sorry.”

Without taking his eyes off the road, Nate reached across and took her hand. “And I keep trying to tell you not to worry about me. My opinion of you has only been improved by seeing what you survived and who you became because of it.”

Sophie felt like she needed to argue with him further, that there was some nuance about the whole experience he was either ignoring or missing, but instead she leaned against his shoulder with a soft sigh. Everything was wrong and out of sorts. She felt like one raw, exposed nerve, and whether Nate was willing to admit it or not, her stupid family had ruined Christmas.

The drive back from her family’s estate was long and uneventful, and Nate’s refusal to have any kind of argument with her about the whole experience meant that Sophie eventually dozed off.

Nate’s kiss on her forehead woke her with a start an hour later. “We’re home,” he murmured, helping her to sit up.

“Did you leave the lights on?” Sophie asked, feeling muzzy and confused as Nate helped her out of the car and she glanced up automatically at their windows.

When he didn’t answer right away, Sophie glanced sharply at her husband – getting a small shrug and a sly grin in return. “I kept telling you not to worry about me.” He paused, glancing meaningfully up at their apartment. “Or Christmas.”

A slow, dawning realization of what he’d done washed all traces of fatigue and guilt from her soul as they went inside. Sophie would have bypassed the elevator entirely, but Nate played the tired Christmas elf to the hilt, also reminding her that her current shoes would not be forgiving if she tried to take them up three flights of stairs at a virtual run.

“Oh Nate,” she exclaimed – all thoughts of loss and disappointment gone as he undid the lock for her and pushed open the door. She had about a minute to register the familiar scent of Eliot’s cooking, before her arms were full of a slender blond tornado wearing a pair of Christmas antlers that chose that exact moment to fall on Sophie’s head and half-blind her.

“Merry Christmas!” Hardison called from across the room. A moment later the space was filled with soft holiday music. Nate and Parker hustled Sophie in the door just in time for her to trade hugs with Hardison and for Eliot to appear in the doorway – a ladle in one hand.

“There’s mulled wine on the sideboard,” he said, gesturing with the utensil. “Dinner’s about five minutes out.” He winked at Sophie, before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“Dinner?” Twisting around Parker’s still clinging embrace, Sophie sought out Nate. “It’s after midnight!”

“I saw how much you ate tonight,” Nate countered. “Besides – it’s exactly when we would be having dinner back in Portland.”

“Are you surprised?” Parker asked, drawing Sophie’s attention. Smiling more genuinely than she had managed in days, Sophie hugged the thief in tight to her side.

“It’s the best surprise I could have ever had, Parker,” she admitted.

Hardison came up to them at last. “We were sorry to hear about your granddad,” he said, his eyes full of emotion. Touched, Sophie reached around Parker to hug him too.

“He would have loved this. And you guys. Thank you.”

Eliot appeared again, carrying a platter loaded down with sliced beef. “All right you jokers. Enough of the mushy stuff – there’s food to be eaten!”

Parker and Hardison obediently let her go and swarmed the table. As Sophie made to follow them, Nate caught her by the wrist and pulled her back into his embrace. “Eliot tipped me off that they were going to do this,” he said softly. “I figured it was better to give in and help than fight the inevitable.”

Sophie reached up to caress his cheek. “Christmas is about family, after all. Thank you for not losing sight of that.”


End file.
